For the first time in Europe, 'talking' cars will be out in normal traffic on ordinary roads on 24th March, thanks to European Commission-funded research. These cars will communicate with each other and with road infrastructure (traffic signs, lights, management centres) whilst being driven in everyday traffic around Amsterdam Airport. The information exchanged with other cars and infrastructure gives drivers additional information, such as hidden hazards, beyond what they can see and hear. This road test aims to demonstrate that cooperative mobility, which is based on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, is working and has the potential to make car trips safer and more energy efficient.

EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "Cooperative systems and services like those in our 'talking' cars stand to bring real added value for Europe's drivers. They can help to promote safe and smart mobility in Europe, leading to fewer fatalities and injuries and a lower CO2 footprint. These 'talking' cars projects are also good examples of Europe's efforts to boost research and innovation in manufacturing industry, at a time of financial and economic turmoil. Such projects stimulate the active involvement of business and contribute to meeting the Europe 2020 Strategy's objective of smart growth based on knowledge and innovation."

Three European research projects, COOPERS, CVIS and SAFESPOT, are being presented in Amsterdam as part of the Cooperative Mobility Showcase 2010 conference. These projects in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for transport have conducted research on all aspects of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. They have developed key building blocks for cooperative mobility such as communication networks between cars and the infrastructure or improved techniques to localise vehicles on the move. Since 2006, the European Commission has co-financed COOPERS, CVIS and SAFESPOT with €52 million from EU research funds.

Cooperative mobility aims to increase drivers' perception beyond what they can see and hear, since the car exchanges information with other cars in the vicinity and with roadside equipment. For example, a crashed car hidden behind a curve in the road warns oncoming drivers that there has been an accident; the speed limit set for a certain road section is displayed on the car's dash board even if the driver cannot see the traffic sign; traffic information relevant for the drivers is transmitted only to them via a dedicated beacon along the road, and nobody else is distracted by irrelevant messages.

The European Standards Organisations will start to develop the standards needed for V2V and V2I and a stable set of standards is expected by the end of 2013.Mass market introduction of cooperative mobility systems by all brands of carmakers and equipment builders is possible as of 2015.

Background:

The 24th March road tests are part of the Cooperative Mobility Showcase 2010, a world-class conference of innovative vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies held in Amsterdam, from 23 to 26 March 2010. The Showcase also includes a three-day conference and an exhibition on cooperative mobility.

A call for proposals on cooperative mobility systems is currently open. See